Evangelism may be the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions’ (SBOM) best known area of work. Through the years state evangelism leaders like Harper Shannon, Otis Williams and now Sammy Gilbreath have embodied the heart and soul of Alabama Baptists — sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.
For decades the annual Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference has rivaled the state convention annual meeting as the best attended Baptist event of the year and no one is in more churches each year than the state evangelism director.
Yet when Gilbreath officially retires June 30 of this year, SBOM will not have a full-time evangelism director. Gilbreath will work on a part-time basis in the northern third of the state.
Two other Alabama pastors will continue to work part-time for the evangelism department. Phil Winningham will cover the central portion of Alabama while Billy Harris will handle the southern most part of the state.
SBOM Executive Director Rick Lance will temporarily add state evangelism director responsibilities to his already full plate.
Instead of three full-time state missionaries working with Alabama Baptist churches to inspire, equip and model evangelism, there will be three part-time workers in this vital area.
This is just one of many adjustments made by SBOM to ensure that Alabama Baptists live within their financial means. Doing so has been a difficult task during a time when financial resources have declined.
Shifting responsibilities
In 1998, when Lance was elected executive director, SBOM employed 121 people. Today that number is 73. When Gilbreath retires, along with two others who have announced retirement plans in the coming months that number will drop to 70.
Dale Huff and Reggie Quimby are the other two who have announced retirement plans. Huff heads the leadership development team. Quimby leads the missions mobilization team. Neither will be replaced and responsibilities of both will be shifted to others in their areas.
Scaling back
In 2000 there were 49 state missionaries. Today there are 28, soon to be 25. Support staff has been reduced from 54 to 29. Campus ministry positions have been scaled back from 18 to 16.
Neither Lance nor other state leaders have called attention to the 40 percent drop in SBOM staff. Instead the focus has been on what continues to be accomplished. For example, the 28 remaining state missionaries participated in more than 3,000 conferences/consultations with Alabama pastors and churches last year. The result of the training and other help provided is incalculable.
The staff reductions were not made in “meat cleaver” style. Instead a ministry audit was done on every full-time position. Strategic decisions were made to get the most ministry out of every dollar. That is why Lance could share with SBOM members in January plans for reductions that are months away.
Like many Alabama Baptist churches, reductions in personnel were not enough to balance the books. Four times since 2009 there were no funds for salary adjustments. During the three years funds were available the increase was 2 percent each time.
According to a study of comparable state conventions done by an Atlanta-based firm, SBOM employee salaries were in the lower middle to begin with and have dropped since the study.
Additionally what was termed “aggressive adjustments” in personnel benefits were made to save premium dollars and some, like campus ministries, now seek more program support from nearby churches and associations.
Part of the cause for these changes was a desire for increased efficiency and effectiveness. Part of the cause has been the declining financial support provided by the Cooperative Program (CP). Since 2009, the Alabama Baptist State Convention CP budget has dropped about $5.5 million or nearly 12 percent.
State Board missionaries do not complain about the new realities in Baptist life. Instead they spend their time determining the best ways to serve the churches. For example Gilbreath initiated the plan to divide the state into thirds with a part-time evangelism consultant in each area. In his typical optimistic fashion Gilbreath assures all comers that he, Winningham and Harris will be able to fulfill the invitations coming from the churches.
Lance called the new arrangement with evangelism an “experiment” when presenting the concept to SBOM. It will be tried for a year and re-evaluated. The goal, he reminded SBOM trustees, is to serve the churches as effectively as possible while living within the means available.
During the past seven financially lean years Baptists have focused on the troubles experienced in work beyond Alabama. As a convention our goal is to do more to share the gospel with people in underserved areas of the United States and to the ends of the earth.
Attention also has been given to the needs of local churches. Church members have less money. Fewer dollars are given in local offering plates. Many local church pastors are hurting financially and local ministries go wanting even though the percentage of undesignated dollars given to causes beyond the local congregation continues to shrink.
Sometimes overlooked is Alabama Baptist needs. Lance is fond of pointing out that Alabama Baptists have three missions boards: the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board and SBOM. Lance and the other state missionaries, together with members of the board, are doing their best to respond to the needs of Alabama Baptist churches large and small. They certainly deserve our prayers.
Determining priorities
The new reality is SBOM can no longer be all things to all people. Priorities have to be determined. Some things get done as always. Some things get done in new ways. Some things receive less attention.
The change in evangelism, for example, shows no less commitment to the gospel than last year. What it does show is the creativity and commitment of SBOM and state missionaries to do the work in light of the new realities faced by Baptists everywhere.
Make sure Alabama missions is on your prayer list in the days ahead.
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